Following The Painting
by yellowrose900
Summary: The search for a stolen painting takes Peter and Neal to a small Virginia town and lands Neal in trouble when he decides to break the law in order to locate the painting.   WARNING:   Contains the spanking of an adult male.
1. Chapter 1

Following The Painting

Summary: The search for a stolen painting takes Peter and Neal to a small Virginia town and lands Neal in trouble when he decides to break the law in order to locate the painting. WARNING: Contains the spanking of an adult male.

NOTE: Set somewhere before the season two finale.

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Peter and Neal were in Peter's car, and had been for the past seven hours. They were investigating the theft of a Picasso painting, worth over half a million dollars. The painting had been stolen two days before from a museum. The forensics team had found a fingerprint on the frame the painting had been stolen from, it belonged to a man named William Tobin.

Tobin lived in a small town in Virginia called Millersville, and according to his credit card records he was in Millersville right before Peter and Neal left New York.

Neal stared out the window, watching the corn and wheat fields whiz by. He was extremely bored and not in a good mood. Seven hours of listening to ballgames on the radio tended to do that to him. Every time he would switch the radio channel, Peter would switch it back and threaten to make him ride in the back seat.

"Come on Peter." He moaned as yet another football game started to be broadcasted. "Not another one."

"Will you stop complaining?" Peter asked, annoyance evident in his voice. He had spent the last seven hours listening to the younger man whine about how bored he was and he was getting tired of it.

"Will you let me pick a radio station?"

"No."

"Then no I will not stop complaining. A human can only listen to so many games before he goes completely insane."

"My car, I choose what we listen to."

"That's not fair."

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't, I'm bored."

"Next store we come to I'll buy you a coloring book." Peter smirked.

"Not funny." Neal said, very close to pouting. "How much further is Millersville?"

"About an hour."

"Another hour?" This time Neal did start pouting.

The last hour was spent in almost complete silence, except for the ball game on the radio.

"Finally." Neal sighed in relief when he saw the sign welcoming them to Millersville. "Population three hundred and fifty." He shook his head. "What would make a person want to live in such a small town?"

"Peace and quite." Peter answered. "A community that looks out for their own. Low crime rate. The list goes on and on."

"This coming from a New Yorker."

"My grandparents, my Mom's parents, lived in a town smaller then this. I spent a lot of summers there."

"What did you do?"

"Fish, hike, take a girl to the Dairy Queen."

Peter parked his car in front of a small police station.

"I'm going in to talk to the Sheriff, go and see what you can find out. If you get any information, come let me know. Do not go off alone and follow the lead."

The two men exited the car and headed in separate directions.

Peter walked into the station and saw three young deputies, all in their twenties and early thirties. And an older man, around fifty and wearing a Sheriff's uniform, was also there.

"Can I help you Sir?" One of the younger men asked.

"Agent Peter Burke, FBI." Peter showed his badge. Then he looked at the Sheriff. "May I have a word with you?"

"Of course." The man held out his hand. "Sheriff Randy Hoist."

Peter shook his hand.

"These are my deputies. Tony Gwen, Rick Carson, and David Jackson. Now, what can we do for the FBI?"

"A Picasso painting was stolen in New York." Peter said. "It is worth a little over half a million dollars."

"For a painting?" Rick asked.

"Picasso was a genius." David said. "Some of his paintings are worth a lot more."

"What does a stolen painting have to do with us?" The Sheriff asked.

"Forensics found a fingerprint belonging to William Tobin." Peter said. "He is a resident of Millersville."

"We know Tobin." Randy said, shaking his head sadly. "His parents were good people, tried to teach him right from wrong. But the lesson didn't stick; Tobin's been in trouble since he was a boy. Started out with petty stuff like stealing and gambling. But it escalated quickly to more violent things. Last month, he nearly broke Tony's jaw when he tried to break up a bar fight between him and another man."

"I have a warrant for his arrest." Peter said. "I would appreciate it if you gave me his address, we couldn't find one on file."

"Tobin lives deep in the woods." Randy said. "You'll never make it before it gets dark. Why don't you spend the night in town, and I'll get my deputies and Charlie to show you to his cabin in the morning. You'll never find it without Charlie."

"Thank you, that sounds like a great idea."

"You here alone?"

"No, my consultant Neal Caffrey is checking around town."

"My men and me are available for what ever assistance you may need."

"Thank you. Is there a hotel close by?"

"Miss Bell's boarding house is down the street." Randy said. "It's not fancy, but it's clean and comfortable."

"What can you tell me about Tobin?"

"He's got a real mean streak in him." Randy said. Then he sighed and said. "Guess you have the right to know, him and my daughter dated a few times."

"Are they still dating?"

"No, she broke it off about four years ago." Then he laughed and added, "After she beat the snot out of him and turned him over to the police. They were out for a ride over in Nettleton, about three hours from here. He parked the car and told her he would be right out, then he went in and robbed the place. He came running out to the car with a gun and bag of cash and my daughter took the gun away from him, dragged him out of the car, beat him up, dragged him into the store and made him apologize to the elderly lady behind the counter, then told him to sit down and shut up until the police arrived."

Peter laughed and asked, "Did you make her a deputy after that?"

"No." Randy smiled proudly. "My baby girl is a park ranger, knows these woods like the back of her hand."

"I'm guessing your daughter id Charlie."

"That's right."

"Not meaning any disrespect." Peter said. "But is it wise to send Tobin's ex-girlfriend to help find him?"

"You don't have to worry about Charlie, she won't stand in the way of you capturing Tobin. They still talk some, but there's nothing between them."

"Do you think he's capable of pulling off a heist at a highly guarded museum?"

"Yeah, he's pretty smart."

Peter thanked him for his time and his cooperation, then he left the sheriff's office in search of his partner.

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"The Sheriff's daughter, really?" Neal asked the middle aged woman sitting on the bench beside him.

"She sure did date him." The woman said. "Still talks to him from time to time. In fact, the other day they stood outside the Dollar General store for over half an hour talking." She shook her head in distaste. "Disgraceful if you ask me."

"Do you know where I could find Charlotte?" Neal asked, flashing his best smile.

"She lives near the woods, but she's probably in her office now."

"Her office?"

"She's a park ranger, but she has an office in town." 

Neal thanked the woman, and then headed for the ranger's office. It was easy to find. He walked in and saw a woman in her late twenties sitting at a desk, typing on her computer.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"I sure hope so." Neal smiled. He thought she was real pretty. Her red hair was cut short and her green eyes sparkled. She was wearing a white tee-shirt and blue jeans, and a Stetson hat lay on the desk.

"I am looking for a man named William Tobin, he's an old friend of mine." Neal said.

"You've came to the wrong place, I don't know where he is." She said, starting to type again.

"Come on, please." Neal leaned over the desk and gave his most charming smile. "It's very important I talk to him."

"If it's that important you talk to Will, then it has to be about something illegal." She said, looking up and glaring at Neal. "Since that's the case, then you are on your own. Now scram, I have work to do." Then she went back to typing.

Neal blinked in surprise, he hated it when his charm didn't work. Then he came up with a plan.

"Thank you for your time." He smiled, then left.

Since Charlotte Hoist was busy in her office, Neal would check her house. He figured Tobin was hiding out there. He knew Peter told him not to follow leads by himself, but Neal wanted to end this case so he could go home. He'd be back before Peter knew he left town.

It only took him fifteen minutes to drive to Charlotte's house, he parked Peter's car a little ways down the road and jogged the rest of the way. The house was a small one story white house with a wrap around pouch. Right behind the property line was were the woods started.

Neal quickly picked the lock on the front door and went inside silently. He quickly discovered that Tobin wasn't there, so he began his search for the painting. He was trying to hurry up and get out before anyone caught him, especially Peter. Neal knew Peter would not approve of his method of locating the painting, and that the older man would make that disapproval known to the seat of his pants.

Finding nothing, he went out the back door and saw a barn in the back yard. Along with a large fence that held three horses. Neal walked out to the barn and went in, then started searching.

A few minutes later, he heard a noise behind him and turned to see the young woman standing there.

"Charlotte." Neal smiled, his mind working on a plan.

"Call me Charlotte again and I will shoot you after I beat you up. The name's Charlie."

"Charlie, that is a bea…" 

"Can the horse manure, what are you doing in here?"

"Looking for Tobin, I told you it was urgent I speak to him."

"He ain't here."

"I know that now, so I will just be on my way." He tried to walk past her, but she grabbed his arm and spun him around. Then her fist connected to his jaw and sent him to the floor.

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Please let me know what you think, I will have the next one up as soon as I can.


	2. Chapter 2

I want to thank everyone for the reviews and for the alerts.

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Peter was getting worried about Neal, he hadn't seen him in over two hours. He was on his way back to the Sheriff's office, when he saw a black jeep pass him. Neal was halfway standing in the backseat, tied to the bars. He was also gagged.

Peter watched as the jeep parked in front of the Sheriff's office and he jogged over. A young woman got out of the jeep and pulled a knife from a sheath on her belt, then she cut the ropes that bound Neal to the jeep.

"Peter." Neal said, after removing the gag, grateful to see the older man. He jumped out of the jeep and stood beside Peter. "That woman in insane."

"And damn proud of it." Charlie said.

"What's going on?" Peter asked.

"I was wondering the same thing." Sheriff Hoist said, as he exited the building. "Charlie, why on earth did you have a man tied to your jeep?"

"Because he broke into my house."

"He what?" Peter asked, glaring at Neal. Neal was starting to think that he may be safer with Charlie.

"Let's carry this inside." The sheriff said, leading the way back into the building.

"I knew hog tying a man was the only way you could get one." Tony said, as they entered the office.

"Bite me." The young woman said.

"Enough you two." Hoist said. "Now what happened?" He looked at his daughter.

"That sack of horse dung came to my office and said he wanted to see Will, said it was important. I told his to take a hike. Then I went home and saw him in my barn."

"Neal." Peter hissed.

"She used to date Tobin." Neal defended his actions, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good. He was in deep trouble. "They still talk."

"I already know that." Peter said.

"Are you Agent Burke?" Charlie asked him.

"Yes I am."

"So Caffrey was telling the truth about Will stealing that painting?"

"Yes."

"That does not give him the excuse to break into my home. If he was honest with me from the get go, none of this would have happened. He only told me about working with the FBI after I had him tied to my jeep. I got tied of listening to him, so I gagged him." Then she turned to her Dad. "I want to press charges."

"I am asking you not too." Peter said. "What Neal did was wrong, and I assure you he will answer for it."

"I am sorry." Neal said. "I was only trying to find Tobin."

"Charlie." Her Dad said. "Pressing charges is your choice. But I am also asking you not too, I get the impression that Peter here won't let him get away with it."

"Fine." She sighed. Then she turned to Neal and said in a low voice. "Next time I will shoot your sorry carcass and then drag you into my bedroom so I can claim self defense. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." Neal gulped.

"Good."

"Charlie." Hoist said. "If you are done scaring Caffrey, there's something we need to discuss."

"I'm done." She said, turning to her Dad. "What's up?"

"Agent Burke and Caffrey need you to lead them to Tobin's cabin in the morning."

"Okay. How early?"

"As early as possible." Peter said.

"Meet me at my place at six, that horse dung knows the way."

"I prefer to be called Neal." Neal said, flashing his most charming smile.

"And I prefer to slap that stupid smile off of your face, but since Daddy's here, I can't."

"Charlotte." Randy said sternly.

"Do either of you know how to ride a horse?" She asked.

"Yes." Both said at the same time.

"I'll have everything you need packed and waiting for you. It's about a two hour ride on horse, then about an hour hike."

"Thank you." Peter said.

"No sweat."

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Peter and Neal walked into a two story house a few minutes later. They were greeted by an older woman with silver hair.

"You must be Agent Burke and Mr. Caffrey." She smiled. "I am Bell Tinsel, welcome."

"Thank you." Peter said.

"Randy told me to expect you, I have two room ready. Free of charge of course."

"That is very kind of you." Peter said. "But we can't ask you to do that."

"Nonsense." She smiled. "I wouldn't dream of charging you when you are trying to fight crime, end of discussion."

"We appreciate it, Ma'am." Peter smiled.

"Yes." Neal said. "Thank you very much."

"My pleasure, I will show you to your rooms."

She lead them upstairs and showed them two room, that shared an adjoining bathroom. Miss Bell told them that supper would be ready in half an hour, then she left.

"Mind telling me what you were thinking?" Peter asked Neal, his voice stern.

"I had probable cause to….." Neal started, but the glare Peter gave him shut him up.

"I told you not to follow any leads by yourself." Peter said. "But you did anyway. Then you broke into someone's house."

"I know I screwed up." Neal admitted, slumping his shoulders. "But I was only trying to help speed the case along."

"I can't let this go unpunished." Peter said, his anger replaced with sadness. He hated punishing Neal, but thought it was necessary at times. It was the only way he had of making sure the younger man stayed out of trouble.

"Please not now, Peter." Neal said. "Everyone will hear, and I have to ride a horse in the morning."

"Alright." Peter said. "Your punishment can wait."

"Thanks."

"Let's get washed up for dinner, I'm starving."

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The next morning, Peter parked his car in front of Charlie's house. The young woman was sitting on the porch steps, drinking a cup of coffee.

"Good morning Charlie." Peter greeted, as him and Neal walked over.

"Good morning Sunshine." Neal said, once again flashing a charming smile. He was determined to win the woman over, no one could resist his charm for long.

"Morning, Agent Burke." She said, standing up. "Horse dung."

"It's Peter."

"And Neal." Neal said. "My name is Neal."

"You boys aren't exactly dressed for a trip to the woods." She said, eyeing their attire.

"We weren't expecting to be spending the night, or going into the woods." Peter explained.

"I've got four older brothers." She said. "They all keep some clothes here, I know you can find some that will fit you."

"Thank you." Peter said. "More suitable clothes sounds great."

"What type of clothes?" Neal asked warily. Charlie was wearing western style boots, blue jeans, a wide leather belt with a large belt buckle, a black tee-shirt, and a Stetson hat. He feared her brothers dressed like her.

"Clothes that make you look like a cartoon." She said, opening the front door and motioning for them to enter. "Where did you get that ridiculous hat?"

The two men entered the house and Charlie followed.

"I like this hat." Neal said, taking it off, then flipping it back on.

"You would." She said, leading them into a laundry room. She nodded towards a tall basket that was full of clothes. "Help yourself. I'll be in the living room."

She left and Peter started going through the clothes. He quickly found a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. "Find you some." He said, as he started to change.

"Jeans is not my style."

"Just do it." Peter said.

Neal sighed and then started rummaging through the clothes. He too found a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt that fit.

"Here you go." Charlie said, handing them each a pair of sneakers. "These should fit."

They put them on.

"Now you look like you belong here and not in New York." She said.

They head a car outside and doors shutting.

"Larry, Moe, and Curly are here." She said, grabbing two back packs from the couch and tossing them to the two men. Peter's was blue, and Neal's was pink.

"Pink?" He asked.

"Sorry." She said, trying not to smile. "All I had. My cousin left it here." Then she picked up a green one. "I put some bottle water, energy bars, first aid kit, stuff like that in there." She picked up three walkie talkies off of a table and handed each man one, then clicked one to her belt. "Cell phones don't work out there; these are our only lines of communication." She handed each man a large hunting knife in a sheath, and a thermos of coffee. Then they walked outside.

The three deputies were leading horses out of a horse trailer attached to a large pick up truck. The horses were already saddled.

"That's only five horses." Neal said.

"Wow." Charlie said, sounding impressed. "You can count, good boy." Then she gave out a loud whistle and a large black horse galloped over to them.

"Let's move out." She said, placing a foot in the stirrup and mounting the animal.

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TBC I will post again as soon as possible. 


	3. Chapter 3

They rode in silence for a while, Charlie leading the way. They went deeper and deeper into the woods.

"How do you keep from getting turned around?" Peter asked, looking around. "Everything looks the same."

"You come here often enough, and you learn." Charlie said. "I've been exploring these woods since I was a little kid."

"How many times have you been to Tobin's cabin?"

"Once, but I knew where it was before that. Been by it several times while out hiking."

They rode for a few more minutes. "Look at that, boys." She said, nodding to the left. They all turned their heads and saw a large male deer with massive antlers.

"You don't see that in New York." Neal said, impressed with the beauty of the animal "I'll admit, it is nice out here. But you can't get a decent cappuccino."

"New York's okay." Charlie said. "But it can't hold a candle to this place."

Charlie stopped her horse, and the other's followed suite. Ahead of them, the trees were closer together and the ground was more uneven.

"We walk from here." She dismounted and lead her horse over to a small stream.

"Aren't you going to tie your horse up?" Peter asked, as he tied his horse's rains to a tree branch.

"Storm won't go anywhere." She said, taking off the horse's saddle and laying it on the ground.

Then she lead them into the thicker woods. They walked for almost an hour, before she stopped. They could see a small cabin in a clearing a few yards away.

"Alright, Charlie stay here."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because you are not a cop, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"That's not…"

"Can it, Charlie." David said. "I don't want to be the one to tell your Dad that you got hurt."

"I won't….."

"End of discussion." Peter said sternly. "Stay here."

"Fine." She said, clearly not happy about it.

"You too Neal."

"But."

"Stay here." Peter said firmly.

Peter and the three deputies pulled their guns and silently made their way to the cabin.

"This sucks." Charlie said.

"I know." Neal agreed.

"Hey, there's Will." Charlie said, as she saw the man running from the back of the cabin. "They don't know he's running. Come on."

"But…" Neal started.

"Do you want him to get away?"

"No." Neal said. "Let's go." They both ran after the fleeing man, but soon lost sight of him. They both stopped and surveyed the surrounding area.

"Be quite." She said. "I know he's close."

"Very close." A voice said. Then William Tobin stepped from behind a tree, a gun aimed at Charlie. "You led them here?" He asked his voice accusing.

"Yep." She said, then kicked her leg out hard, knocking the gun from his grasp. Then she jumped in the air, spun around, and kicked him in the jaw. Tobin landed on the ground with a loud thump.

"Very impressive." A new voice said. Then two men stepped from behind trees, both had guns aimed at Charlie and Neal. "Hands up."

Neal and Charlie had no choice bet to do as they were told.

"We lost a lost of money because of you and your friends at the cabin." One of the men said. "We can't do anything about them, but we can about the two of you."

"We can talk this through." Neal said, stepping in front of Charlie. He was making sure that he was between her and the gunmen.

"I think I'm going to let a bullet do all of my talking for me."

"FBI!" Peter shouted, as him and the three deputies surrounded the two men, their own guns drawn. "Guns down."

"Nice timing, Peter." Neal said.

"You okay?" David asked Charlie.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, embarrassed that she had to be rescued.

"Until Randy gets a hold of you." He said, sternly. "What where you thinking?"

"You're telling Daddy?" She asked, with a worried voice.

"Oh yeah." David said. "You could have been killed."

Peter glared at Neal, and the younger man knew he had just dug the hole he was in a lot deeper.

"Let's head back to the cabin." Peter said, after the three men were cuffed.

They walked the short distance to the cabin and went inside.

"Wow." Neal said, looking around. The small cabin was packed with paintings, vases, figurines, and statues.

"Neal and I need to stay here." Peter said, looking at David. "Can you take them back to town and call my team for me, have them meet us here."

"Yes Sir." David said. "Charlie can bring them out first ting in the morning."

"In the morning?" Charlie asked, gulping slightly. "On horseback?"

"It'll teach ya a lesson." David told her.

Neal knew that look, he was pretty sure the Sheriff dealt with things the same way Peter did.

Peter wrote down Jones' phone number and instructions on what to tell him.

"I'll have them out as soon as I can." Charlie said, clearly not happy about it.

"Thank you." Peter said. He too knew that the young woman was probably going to have a sore backside the next morning, but he figured it would reinforce the lesson. She could have been killed.

Charlie, the three deputies, and the three prisoners left the cabin and began their hike back to the horses. Peter turned to Neal, a scowl on his face.

"We should start the catalog these." The younger man said, picking up a vase. "We should have them all done by the time Jones and Diana get here in the morning."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Peter asked sternly.

"I didn't want Tobin to get away." Neal said knowing the excuse sounded lame.

"And you wanted to impress Charlie."

"That too." He admitted, sating the vase back down.

"You could have been killed, and so could Charlie. You should have used your walkie talkie and told us about Tobin fleeing."

"I know." Neal said, feeling guilty. He knew he shouldn't have chased after him, and he should never have let Charlie.

"You were already due a spanking for breaking into Charlie's house." Peter. "Now you have another one coming for this stunt."

Neal opened his mouth to protest, but then shut it. He knew he messed up, and he knew he had to pay for it.

"Neal, why don't you ever think before you do these things?" Peter asked, sadly.

"I don't know." The younger man admitted.

"My belt doesn't seem to be working, so I think it's time we tried something else."

"W…what's that?" Neal asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Follow me." Peter walked out of the cabin, Neal followed him.

They walked over to a tree and Peter pulled out a small pocket knife and handed it to Neal. He took the knife with a confused expression.

"What do I do with this?" Neal asked.

"You use it to cut a switch."

"Huh?" Neal's face paled slightly.

"Cut a switch." Peter said.

Neal swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and turned to the tree. He had no idea which branch to cut off.

"That one." Peter said, nodding towards a branch.

Neal cut the switch off and started to hand it to Peter, but the older man didn't take it.

"Strip it." He said.

Neal slowly used the knife to cut away the leaves, until the switch was smooth. This time when he handed it to Peter, the other man took it.

"Drop your pants and shorts." Peter said.

Neal slowly did as he was told, then he leaned forward and placed his hands on the tree.

Swish Thwack! The switch left a slightly raised welt on Neal's butt, and he hissed in pain. It burned worse then Peter's belt.

Swish Thwack! Another line formed just below the first one. Neal gritted his teeth, but remained silent.

Swish Thwack! A third welt formed, and Neal gasped in pain.

"No more breaking the law, Neal." Peter said. "There is a right way and a wrong way to do this job. The wrong way could send you back to prison, and I am not about to stand back and let that happen."

Swish Thwack! Swish Thwack! Two more lines formed and Neal started crying softly. His but felt as if it was on fire.

"If Charlie would have pressed charges, then there would have been nothing I could do." Peter lectured, surveying Neal's butt. Five welts stood out on it. Peter took careful aim, being sure not to cross any of the licks. He wanted this lesson to stick, but he wasn't abusive.

"And you don't run after a suspect that could be armed. You could have been killed."

Peter took a deep breath to steady himself for the rest of Neal's punishment. He really hated having to do this, but he was determined to make Neal start thinking. He thought of the younger man as a brother, and he felt it was his responsibility to help him understand right from wrong.

Swish Thwack! The sixth lick was applied to Neal's sit spot.

"Owww!" Neal yelled out, not able to resist standing up and grabbing his injured backside. Tears ran down his face as he cried.

Peter waited patiently until Neal lowed his hands, then bent back over with a whimper.

Swish Thwack! This one landed on his upper thighs.

"N…no more!" Neal cried out.

"We're not done yet, Neal." Peter said, calmly. "This one's big, I can let you go around needlessly putting yourself in danger. I care too much about you to let you get away with chasing after Tobin,"

Despite the blazing pain in his butt and upper thighs, Neal couldn't help but feel good about Peter's statement. He loved the idea of having someone who cared for him.

Swish Thwack! Another lick to his upper thighs had him sobbing, and erased every other thought he had.

Swish Thwack!

"P…please s…stop!" Neal sobbed out.

"One more." Peter said, then it's over. Taking careful aim, Peter landed the tenth and finally lick.

Neal continued to hold onto the tree and sobbed out his pain. Peter stepped back and gave the younger man some space. After a few moment, Neal stiffly stood up and bent down to pull up his shorts. He hissed in pain and whimpered when he pulled them up over his scorched butt. Then he kicked out of his shoes and pants.

"It's over, Neal." Peter said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leading him back into the cabin. "Why don't you rest for a little while, we can catalog the stuff later."

Neal nodded, but didn't speak. He wasn't sure if he could. Peter led him over to one of the cots and helped him lay down on his stomach. The younger man was still crying softly. Peter pulled a chair over and sad down beside the cot. He rubbed a hand gently up and down Neal's back. After a few minutes, he felt Neal's breathing become level and knew he was asleep.

Peter gently pulled a sheet over the sleeping man and watched him sleep, grateful that he was safe.

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TBC

I will have the last chapter up by tomorrow night, maybe late night. Hope you like it, please let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

Neal woke up, still lying on his stomach. He opened his eyes and saw Peter sitting at a desk, writing information down about a painting sitting in front of him. Neal noticed that several item already had tags on them. Neal slowly rolled over onto his back, then yelped and jumped out of bed quickly.

"There's some coffee and soup on the stove." Peter said. "I found some supplies in the kitchen, don't think Tobin will be using them anytime soon."

"Thanks." Neal said, walking into the small kitchen and fixing himself a bowl of soup and a cup of coffee. He carried them back into the main room and stood beside the desk.

"You should have woken me." Neal said, feeling guilty that Peter had to do the brunt of the paperwork.

"You needed the rest." Peter said. "Besides, there's still plenty to do."

After eating, Neal started helping Peter catalog everything. The younger man did all of his work standing up. They worked for almost four hours, until they cataloged the last painting. Neal's legs were very tired and getting sore, but h still thought it was better then sitting down.

"Well." Peter said. "We are surrounded by five million and change."

"Too bad I'm reformed." Neal said, with a grin.

"I'm turning in." Peter said, standing up and stretching. "I'm bushed."

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The next morning, Peter and Neal were inside the cabin when they heard voices. They walked outside and saw Charlie, Jones, and Diana walking towards the cabin. Charlie looked very uncomfortable, and the two men noticed that she was wearing a pair of soft sweat pants instead of jeans.

"Man this place is a great hiding place." Jones said.

"Exactly how are we going to get the stolen items from the cabin to the road?" Diana asked.

"Neal and me figured that out last night." Peter said. "We found a one wheel cart in the cabin, it'll take a couple trips though."

"I'll radio Daddy and have him send some pack mules to where we left the horses." Charlie said. "They can haul the stuff from there to the road."

"Sounds good." Peter said. "Come on." Peter, Jones and Diana headed towards the cabin.

"I'm going to go ahead and call." Charlie said, holding up the walkie talkie. "I'll be in in a minute." Then she walked off.

Neal watched her walk away a little stiffly, and followed her. He watched her lay the walkie talkie on a fallen tree, then use both hands to rub her butt trough her pants.

"Bet you've been waiting a while to do that." Neal's voice caused her to jump and spin around; an embarrassed look was on her face.

"Don't be embarrassed." Neal said. "Your Dad and Peter are a lot alike."

"You got a licking too?" She asked, going back to rubbing her butt.

"He made me cut a switch."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

"Daddy took his razor strap to me."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

They heard noises behind them and turned around, then watched in horror as they saw five armed men enter the cabin.

"No gunshots." Charlie said, as they ducked down behind a bush. "That's good."

"We've got to get them out."

"Daddy, come in." Charlie said into her walkie talkie.

"What's wrong Charlie?" Her Dad's worried voice said, he could tell something was wrong from her tone.

"We're at the cabin, but we have company. Five armed men just went inside, the three agents were inside when they did. My guess is the agents are now prisoners."

"What about Caffrey?"

"He's here with me."

"Do they know you're there?"

"No Sir."

"Stay put and keep watch, do not act unless you have to too."

"Okay."

"Be careful, Honey."

"We will."

/

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Inside the cabin, the three agents were tied to chairs. The five gunmen were a few feet away, going through Peter and Neal's cataloged item list.

"Kidnapping Federal agents is a felony." Peter told them, keeping is voice sturdy and indifferent.

"So is killing them." One of the gunmen said. "Which is what we are about to do."

"There is still time to walk away from this." Peter said.

"No there isn't." The man said, a cruel smile forming on his lips.

/

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Neal jogged back over to where Charlie was still hidden and knelt beside her, a frown on his face.

"They're planning on killing them." He said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, we don't have time to wait on backup."

"Any ideas?"

"We have to get them of the cabin." Then he grinned. "I'll get them out, lure them away from the cabin, you sneak in and untie them."

"I should lead them away, I know the area, and you don't."

"I'll manage."

"But…."

"Please, Charlie." Neal said. "We don't have time to argue."

"Okay." She sighed. "Head North about a quarter mile until you see a large rock that's shaped kinda like a snowman, then head east a few yards till see two trees that cross about halfway up, then head South and that should bring you right back here."

"Okay."

"I'll lead them right back into the cabin."

"Be careful."

Neal winked at her, then he walked to the front of the cabin, picked up a rock, then threw the rock trough the window. "Come out and face me like a man Tobin!" He yelled. The door opened and the five gunmen stepped out.

"You're not Tobin." Neal said, faking a surprised look. "I'm telling the Sheriff!" Then he took of running north. The five men ran after him, shooting at him.

Charlie waited until they were out of sight, then she ran into the cabin.

"What's going on?" Peter asked, as she started untying them.

"Neal's live bait, he's leading them on a chase. They should be back here in a few minutes."

The three agents grabbed their guns from the table and started to go outside, but Charlie stepped in front of the door.

"Neal's leading them back in here."

"Here they come." Diana said, looking out the window.

"Stand back, Charlie." Peter said, as him and the other agents got into position.

The door burst open and Neal ran in, the five gunmen right behind him.

"FBI!" Peter shouted. "Gun's down!"

The gunmen did not have their guns raised, and knew they would never be able to raise them before they were shot. So they dropped their guns and raised their empty hands.

"I say we get out of here before anymore show up." Charlie said.

"Good idea." Peter agreed. Then he smiled and said. "And we just some eager volunteers to push the cart."

THE END

Sorry it took longer for me to update it then I thought it would. Let me know what you think.


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